Till fate do us part
by SilverandRed
Summary: Takes place when Mandarin is still leader. After the monkeys defeat the most wanted criminals of Shuggazoom, Antauri finds a three year old child, Chiro, at the site of the crime. He decides to take him back to the robot, and the Hyperforce agrees to care for him, but things take a turn for the worse when Mandarin starts to slowly change. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: This was originally meant to be a one shot, but since it dragged on for too long, I'm going to break it into two chapters so it's easier. :) This is honestly one of the longest fics I've worked on, so I am nervous and excited at the same time to share it with you guys._

 _Takes place in AU, though I did try to make it as canon as possible._ _Warnings include alcoholism and a fair amount of violence. But other than that, it's pretty PG. Oh, and very slight sexual references._

 _Enjoy!_

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"Monkeys, we need your help. Shuggazoom's top crime syndicate has been detected at Sector Three, near the old abandoned kindergarten. The police force is currently hot on their tails-"

Mandarin frowned at the choice of words. Otto sniggered softly behind him.

"-No pun intended. Our reinforcements won't be able to arrive in time. Police officers have the area surrounded, and nobody has escaped so far, but we don't have enough men to go in for the arrest. We can hold them off for about fifteen minutes, but that's it- they have a whole lot of weapons and explosives with them. We're not sure when they'll make their move."

"Alright." Mandarin replied into his communicator before cutting the call. He turned around and looked at the other monkeys, who were all already standing upright and waiting for his command after having heard the conversation. Mandarin grinned in delight.

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for," he spoke out loudly, securing his glove tightly on his right hand, "Shuggazoom's most wanted criminals are at our fingertips. We cannot let them escape this time, not anymore. Prepare your jet packs, team. We won't use the robot, that would alarm the criminals, leading to unnecessary violence. There are too many innocent lives at risk. We will carry the arrest out in secrecy instead. This is one mission we absolutely cannot fail."

The rest of the Hyperforce members nodded as Otto immediately inserted an extra tube of fuel into each of his brother's rocket packs. He winked as he passed Mandarin the last one. "All set." Otto gave Mandarin a thumbs up, smiling, once the orange monkey had locked his own refill in place.

The orange monkey nodded in appreciation. "Then we're ready to go. Monkeys, mobilize!"

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The night skies of Shuggazoom city felt cool against their fur as the Hyperforce made their way toward Sector 3. Gibson's eyes traced his scanner carefully as they got closer to where the criminals were. The red blip on the screen blinked once, twice, and then with a higher frequency, until it did not disappear at all. The scientist took that at his cue and pointed downward to a dark alley.

"There. That's where we should land."

Antauri was the first to lower his altitude, and the rest followed closely behind him. They started to walk into the blackness of the alley until all traces of street light disappeared. Mandarin activated his helmet's flashlight and quickened his pace, proceeding to the front of the team cautiously, leading them to where the police were. Metallic footsteps clanked throughout the cramped space as a sinister gloom hung around the Hyperforce. Sprx shuddered involuntarily and wrapped his arms around himself.

"I think I see them," Mandarin suddenly halted to a stop at the front, causing the rest behind him to bump into the monkey in front, creating a chained effect, "crouch low. We are near enough; we don't want to be spotted yet."

The commotion before them was indeed a sight to behold. Police cars floating in mid air flashed out moving red and blue lights, and about a dozen men formed a circle around the building, holding their guns up in front of them at point blank position. Search dogs growled with aggression and restlessness, drool dripping from the side of their jaws. A small group of reporters gathered a few meters away, clutching onto their cameras tightly, ready to catch a shot of the criminals, while another officer tried to contain the eager crowd.

"We know you're in there!" A deep voice shouted into the loudspeaker. He sounded like the man over Mandarin's communicator earlier. "We will be forced to take action if you do not show yourselves! We have you surrounded. You cannot escape!"

A hushed silence fell upon the crowd in seconds as everyone waited intently for a sign of movement from the criminals. Not even breathing could be heard as they scrutinized the building, but after a few minutes, there were still no traces of life. A few light sighs of disappointment could be heard, but nobody made a sound louder than a whisper.

Mandarin turned his head back and spoke softly into Antauri's ear, his dark orbs narrowing in suspicion. "Phase into the building and see what they're up to. I don't like how it's too quiet in there."

The black monkey nodded in agreement. "My thoughts' exactly. I'll return as soon as possible."

After saying that, he jumped into the ground below him gracefully and disappeared without a trace. Mandarin resumed looking at the building and swallowed. These criminals had escaped from his grasp once, spreading their illegal activities throughout the city- unlawful drug trades, assassinations of important embassies, selling of lethal poison. He could not afford to let anyone else to fall into a life of corruption and felony. As leader of the Hyperforce, it was his responsibility to maintain the peace in Shuggazoom, and he took great pride in carrying out his missions.

He had failed once. He is going to make sure that he does not fail again.

Gritting his teeth in determination, Mandarin activated his night vision and zoomed in on the building. He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration as his eyes swept thoroughly from left to right, looking out for any signs of footprints or clues that may lead him to-

A small, flat, grey device firmly implanted on the ground near the door of the building caught his attention. He was all too familiar with those gadgets, having used it several times himself. The orange monkey felt a wave of dread crash over him. He licked his dry lips nervously, trying to register what he was seeing in his brain.

"Explosive."

"I see it." Gibson's british accented voice sounded out from behind, his night vision activated as well. "We need to deactivate that bomb before anybody gets too close."

Mandarin's eyes turned wide in realization.

"Do you know what this means?" He shot a quick glance at the rest of his teammates, voice growing more urgent by the second, "they're on a suicide mission. The minute they step foot out of that door, the bomb is going to blow up. Everyone's lives are in _grave_ danger now. Nova, I need you and Sprx to alert the police and get every citizen away from here. And do it _quietly._ We don't want to cause any unnecessary commotion."

The golden warrior stood up and smirked. "Finally we're doing something." She grabbed Sprx by the wrist and jumped into the nearby shadows with the stealth of a ninja until both were completely out of sight.

Seeing that Sprx and Nova had vanished, Mandarin then beckoned towards Gibson and Otto, who were expectantly awaiting a command. "Deactivate the bomb before the criminals come out," the orange leader placed his hands on the other two's shoulders, "be careful. I know that both of you are fully capable of this. We've had many training sessions on how to shut down explosives, and you all have performed well beyond my expectations. Now comes the real deal. I will go and join Antauri to keep the criminals contained inside the building while you two are working. Got it?"

Otto quickly erased all traces of uneasiness on his face at Mandarin's comforting words, perking up with renewed cheerfulness. "We'll succeed, definitely! C'mon Gibson, let's go!"

As the green monkey ran off, Gibson gave his leader a soft smile. "There is no need to fret. We have this under control."

Mandarin punched his fist lightly into his brother's arm playfully, a friendly habit that they had developed over time. "See you later then, Brainstrain. And look after Otto, please."

The scientist nodded and chased after Otto. Mandarin couldn't help but let a smile cross his features as he activated his powers and phased into the ground, where Antauri had gone.

This team meant everything to him, and he couldn't imagine a more perfect life without them.

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It was like the walls around him were alive as Antauri finally reached his destination. He heard continuous sounds of creaking and groaning of old and worn out wood from the footsteps above him. It was barely any surprise for Antauri to pick up every sound in the building because he was situated directly below the floorboards, which had just enough space to accommodate his small build. The black monkey activated his antenna ears and leaned towards a man's mumbling voice that resounded on top him.

"... I think -ee should... -ait until...- 'esky flies are -one-, and leave 'e –ild in –ere,"

Antauri frowned and tuned in to a higher frequency, leaning closer toward the sound.

"-and leave the child in here. If anything, he should die with us, since you filthy son of a bitch didn't wan' to get an abortion! The police gots us surrounded anyways, there's nuthin' we can do, but if we 'ave to be arrested, then I'd rather die and kill everyone around as wells! That explosive's outside the door the most powerful one we's gots!"

"Don't," a woman's voice sobbed, much softer than the male one, "you can jolly well commit suicide for all I care, but me and the child don't deserve this fate. Chiro is barely three years old, he needs me, I need to feed him, who's going to provide him food-"

"Shut up." A hiss, then silence. "Chiro waz' a mistake. Your attachment with that... _burden_ waz' what leds us into dis' situation!"

"I honestly don't get why you like the damn kid so much, whore," another deeper voice interrupted rudely, "we don't even know who the father is. I mean, we all took turns to have sex with you so many times that night, how could you _possibly_ tell after we've spilled-"

"Enough!" The woman raised her voice for the first time, but it was trembling as she struggled to find the words to speak, "the child is Alamie's, I _loved him,_ he was your partner in crime until you abandoned him to die in the last time the goddamn monkeys almost got us!"

A snigger and a scoff from two different voices. Antauri silently growled, resisting the urge to attack.

"Save the child, _please,"_ she begged and started to cry, her voice breaking completely, "we may deserve death, but Chiro is innocent. He cannot die."

The black monkey's antenna ear folded back to its original size as he withdrew himself from the floorboard he was leaning on, thinking deeply about what he had just heard. Piece by piece, he connected the information all together, like parts of a puzzle. Explosive, child, indiscriminate killing of lives. It could only mean-

"Suicide mission."

Antauri whipped his head back to the sound of the other voice behind him and cannot help but let out a sigh of relief to find out that it was only Mandarin. Before he had a chance to speak, Mandarin crawled into the cramped space on all fours in front of Antauri, his torso flat against the ground.

"Don't make any noise," the leader whispered, signaling Antauri to crouch as well, to which the black monkey complied obediently, "We haven't got much time. Attack on my signal."

Silence enveloped them as Mandarin listened intently to the voices above, his eyes screwed shut in concentration to find the perfect moment for ambush. Even his breathing became deeper by the second, a technique he used during meditation when he was very focused on making a choice. Antauri knew that Mandarin required absolute silence for this, so he did not dare to move even a muscle.

Antauri waited quietly for Mandarin's command, which felt like eternity before the orange leader raised his gloved hand high enough for him to see. Three fingers. He brought down another finger as the voices got closer. Antauri activated a ghost claw, ready to invade.

One.

Antauri took that as his cue as they jumped up skillfully from their hiding spot, breaking the floorboards above them. The voices stopped abruptly, frozen in place at the unexpected appearance of the two monkeys. Mandarin wasted no time in advancing at the criminals, moving closer and closer to them until they were backed into a corner with nowhere to run. Antauri stationed himself in front of the door, both ghost claws glowing an eerie shade of green in the dimness of the room. The room was flooded in artificial yellow light emanating from a small bulb, and the conditions were horrible-dusty cobwebs, cockroaches, scattering rats. The place smelled of cigarette smoke and stale sweat. Mandarin wrinkled his nose in disgust, his eyes sweeping over the sight in front of him. Three people. Just enough for him and Antauri to handle.

The orange monkey let out a snarl, causing the woman to flinch. "Surrender and your arrest will be peaceful." He warned dangerously, before realizing that humans couldn't understand him. Mandarin sighed, then went for a more forceful approach.

He activated his blue energy tail, causing the metallic part of his tail to metamorphose into something like a rope, and aimed for the weakest of the group- the female. He ripped off part of the tail and threw it at the woman's hands, effectively tying them together as the energy rope wrapped itself around her wrists. The woman's face turned pale. She looked like she was about to faint.

"To 'e door! Quickly!"

With Mandarin distracted, the other two males rushed straight toward the exit. A short, stubby looking man hurriedly fished out a gun and shot two bullets at Antauri, who dodged aside swiftly. The man cursed under his breath and loaded a new set of ammunition into his gun, aiming for the black monkey carefully. The second-in-command charged forward without hesitation and used a claw to scratch his arm, causing the man to scream in pain as he released his weapon, which was thrown to the opposite side of the room.

"Antauri! Monkey mind scream, now!"

As if they shared the same mind, Antauri let out a high pitched screech as white, circular rings of energy assaulted his enemies. The two men cried out painfully as they tried to cover their ears to block out the sound, but eventually crumpled into a heap on the floor as the attack continued. They laid there, motionless and unmoving for a few seconds. Antauri ceased his offense and approached them slowly. He placed two metallic fingers on their necks and checked for the pulse. Weak, but still there. The black monkey let out a breath of relief.

"You should stop doing that," Mandarin commented as he carried the female over his shoulder, laying her unconscious body beside the other two, "criminals are criminals. It doesn't matter if we kill them, they're going to get executed sooner or later. The Hyperforce doesn't face any charges for killing criminals during battle anyway."

Antauri crossed his arms and looked at Mandarin directly in the eye. "All life should not be regarded lightly, no matter how tainted. It is our duty to keep evil from spreading, but that does not mean we have the right to kill."

Mandarin smirked and walked past Antauri, opening the door. "Xan has taught you well, but you remain so soft hearted, as always."

At the appearance of the orange leader, crowds outside the building cheered loudly for the defeat of the criminals, and more importantly, the success of the Hyperforce. Otto rushed forward and glomped Mandarin into a tight hug, shouting out joyfully. (To which there was a unanimous 'awww' from everyone, but Otto was too ecstatic to notice.)

"We heard gunshots," the mechanic stated, his eyes narrowing slightly in worry, "we thought someone had gotten hurt. Out of all the criminals we've defeated none of them have used guns before!"

Mandarin returned the hug and patted Otto's back comfortingly. "It's going to take a lot more than mere guns to take the Hyperfoce down. We're nearly invincible." His voice softened down a notch as he saw an innocent smile cross Otto's features. "There's no need to worry so much about me after every mission."

Taking the mechanic by the hand, Mandarin waved goodbye to Antauri and beckoned Gibson to follow them as they walked into the distance. "I'm counting on you to settle the matters with the police!"

As a second-in-command it was Antauri's duty to wrap everything up after each capture- communicate with the authorities, discuss about current criminal activities, etcetera. The black monkey waved back to his disappearing teammates and approached a police officer. He levitated the unconscious criminals out of the building and settled them gently on the ground beside him. The man grinned, removing Mandarin's energy rope and replaced it with a proper handcuff.

"Reliable as always, Antauri." He bent down and gave the black monkey a firm handshake. "Thank you for your services."

Antauri smiled in return and was about to head back to the robot when a soft crying caught his attention. He walked toward the direction of the sound and ended up inside the building. A small shadow at the corner of the room was where the sobbing was coming from, and Antauri approached it cautiously, afraid to startle whoever it was. His eyes softened considerably as he saw a small child wrapped around in a white, dirty, blanket. Gingerly picking up the child into his arms, Antauri felt his breath being taken away as he saw the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Crystal, baby blue opals, sparkling with the innocence of life itself, but with a certain depth of wisdom that he could not explain. Unsure of what to do, Antauri carried the child up and rubbed small circles on his back lightly, something he had done with Otto on several occasions to help calm the green monkey down, hoping that the child would stop crying. _Chiro,_ Antauri thought to himself, _that was what she said his name was._

The child eventually quietened down as he raised a hand to touch Antauri's face. He giggled as he came in contact with the black monkey's soft fur, tugging on it slightly. Antauri smiled and walked outside, still carrying the boy in his arms as he swished his tail back and forth to entertain him, who was mesmerized by the sight of the moving tail. The boy reached out both hands to try and grab it unsuccessfully, and Antauri chuckled. He walked toward a nearby officer and cleared his throat. The officer knew all too well that clearing of the throat meant that the Hyperforce members had something to say, so he passed his pen and notepad to Antauri, who scribbled some words down.

 _Can I keep him?_

The man blinked in surprise. He looked down at Antauri, spotting an amused child laughing as it tried to take hold of Antauri's tail. The officer rubbed his head in confusion at the sight.

"I think so? I'm not very sure..." He replied hesitantly. As a result, the black monkey's eyes lowered down in disappointment after hearing the doubt in his voice, and the officer, afraid to offend the Hyperforce, quickly corrected his sentence.

"I mean, _of course_ you can keep him! As the Chief of the Police Force I humbly grant you the permission to take this child into your care! After all," he pointed into the abandoned building sadly, "his parents were probably those convicts we arrested. Poor thing has nowhere else to go. It would be an honor for the Hyperforce to care for him."

Antauri's greenish-yellow orbs lit up so much, they almost glowed with joy. Reminding himself to keep his emotions in place, the black monkey quickly regained his composure and scribbled something down onto the notepad.

 _Thank you._

Thinking that two words were not possibly enough to express the immense gratitude he was feeling, he added something else as an afterthought.

 _:D_

Returning the notepad to the officer and bowing as a form of respect, the black monkey activated his jet pack and flew into the skies, leaving a very baffled man behind wondering if he had made the right decision.

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"Chiro. His name is Chiro."

The rest of the Hyperforce stared at Antauri carrying a giggling human child in his arms. It was indeed a sight to behold- Their second-in-command holding the gentlest expression on his features that they had ever seen, a soft smile evident on his muzzle whenever he took a glance at the bundle of joy.

Gibson didn't know what to feel. Sprx was in shock, his mouth wide agape. Mandarin was rubbing his chin and thinking thoughtfully at the sudden change of events while Otto and Nova held a blank look on their faces.

Sprx crossed his arms, clearly perplexed. He stared at his brother as if he was crazy. "Y'know Antauri," Sprx said, "let me get this straight. You want us, a _crime-fighting, superhero_ team to care for a kid? What were you thinking, playing angel? Do you want a halo over your head with that?"

The red monkey chuckled at the mental image, but nobody else laughed. He quietened down meekly after a few moments.

"I don't see why we shouldn't take Chiro in." The black monkey's calm exterior only added to his frustration. Sprx opened his mouth to rebut, only to be interrupted by Otto.

"I like him!" The mechanic took the child from Antauri's arms and used a finger to rub on Chiro's hair, who snickered in response, "He's so cute! And giggly!"

Nova stepped forward and took a closer look at Chiro. "I'm not completely up for the idea, but you gotta admit, he is _kinda_ cute." She poked Chiro's chubby pink cheeks, and smiled when the child grabbed her hand before letting go.

Mandarin raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I asked you to settle matters with the police, and you bring a child back to the robot?" He tapped his foot, looking at Antauri sternly, "we cannot leave this child alone, because we were the ones who arrested his parents, so we have a moral duty to keep him until we find a couple who wants to adopt. But," he narrowed his eyes at the black monkey, "this will not happen again, understand? The Super Robot is a fighting machine, not a playground for kids."

Antauri nodded in understanding and visibly relaxed at Mandarin's approval. Gibson pried Chiro away from Otto gently and wrapped the blanket more securely around the child. He couldn't help but smile as Chiro cooed in delight.

"I will take him to my lab to check for any signs of disease. He looks like he's about three years old... but Chiro seems uneducated in terms of speech. Hmm, figures, since his parents were criminals. I'll need to get him washed up first before I perform any medical scans."

Gibson walked towards the blue tube and disappeared from the room. Mandarin let out a loud sigh as he rubbed his temples. Sprx mumbled something inaudible under his breath, earning a glare and a jab in the arm from Nova.

"Well, team," the orange monkey announced, assessing everybody carefully, "looks like we've got a new mission on our hands. I want Otto and Gibson to provide Chiro education on the human tongue. Sprx, Nova, you're in charge of self defense. Since Antauri brought him back, I want him to take full responsibility for the child's food, clothes and accommodation. And of course, as Hyperforce leader, I will provide my assistance with that. Got it?"

The remaining monkeys nodded and ran off to the respective chambers to make the necessary preparations, albeit unwillingly on Sprx's part. But an order was an order, and orders were meant to be obeyed. Antauri approached Mandarin and muttered a word of thanks, to which the orange monkey waved off casually.

"Moral duties are supposed to be fulfilled, and this is no exception."

Antauri dipped his head in agreement. "Yes... but we do face one crucial problem though."

"Spill. And that is...?"

"...Clothes."

Mandarin looked at his brother in confusion before he was struck with sudden realization. The orange monkey slapped a hand to his cheek, eyes widening in surprise.

"How could we have missed that? The boy needs clothes and we've got none since we don't exactly... ahem, wear any." He smiled with glee, rubbing his hands together excitedly at the idea of a trip to town (and a chance to unwind.)

"Tell everyone to get ready to go out in an hour, and leave Chiro in the robot. We're going shopping."

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The town square is bustling with citizens who are ecstatic over the arrest of Shuggazoom's top crime syndicate. The news of their defeat had spread like wildfire, and many of the city's peace-loving citizens could now lead the tranquil lives they yearned for without fearing for danger. Cheers could be heard as the Hyperforce made their way to the local shopping street, and more adventurous citizens even came up to them and offered tokens of appreciations, like fruit baskets, to which Gibson graciously accepted. Sprx pretended to gag jokingly at the overload of bananas, and Nova slapped him sternly on the back.

"Look at all these people," Mandarin commented to Antauri with both hands resting at the back of his head as he continued walking, "it feels really good to have them cheering for us. I don't get villains who want to take their smiles away. If I were given the choice to rule over Shuggazoom, I'd create a place where everyone lives together on equal footing. No sadness, no crime, nada, but a paradise where people enjoy what they're doing. But of course, they will need a good leader, and I'm _perfect_ for the role."

"You do have a bizarre way of expressing your opinions," the black monkey replied, slightly disapproving of his brother's narcism, "though I can't say that I have any desire of going so far as to rule over the city."

"No, no, of course not, the situation was purely hypothetical." Mandarin shook his head. "Protecting the city is enough for me. Nothing more, and nothing less."

As the team walked toward a store with several toddler items on display behind its glass window, a friendly lady waved to them, welcoming the Hyperforce inside.

"My name is Serena, and I am the shop-owner of this humble little abode." She introduced herself jovially, and Mandarin shook her hand as a way of saying hello. Serena blushed and quickly averted her eyes away.

Mandarin beckoned to Otto, and as if reading his brother's mind, the green monkey passed him a small, newly built galactic translator badge. The orange leader tiptoed and pinned it onto Serena's right sleeve, who shuddered in delight at the contact.

Once he made sure that the badge was properly activated, Mandarin opened his mouth to speak. "I think we're looking for some clothes, suitable for a three year old." He held up four fingers and watched as Serena's eyes widened in shock at the sound of his (very, very handsome) voice. "And some milk power as well." He counted off another finger. "I think Antauri needs to get Chiro a new blanket since his current one is soiled, and perhaps a toy? To keep Chiro entertained in his room when he's busy meditating."

Serena's mind spent some time to absorb the new information. She had so many things to ask the monkeys, now that she actually understood them, but she wasn't sure what to feel-Happy because she was the first (and luckiest) person in Shuggazoom to hear Mandarin's voice, or shock because the Hyperforce had a _three year old_ with them.

"You guys have a child with you?" She spoke slowly, her vision narrowing to the black and orange monkeys in front of her. She turned stiff when Mandarin nodded in confirmation. Then, Serena pointed to the black monkey. "And he, the one called Antauri, is the _mom?"_

Once again, Mandarin nodded firmly. She felt all the blood draining from her face.

"That means you two are homosex-"

Realizing the implications of Mandarin's actions in an instant, Antauri immediately levitated up to Serena's eye level and placed a hand on her shoulder. He shot a glare at the leader, who pretended not to notice as he and Sprx exchanged a small smirk. She rubbed her eyes and wondered if the very light tint of red blush dotted across Antauri's cheeks were real, or was her overactive mind just imagining things?

"Rest assured that we are not in any sort of romantic relationship," he stated calmly, "Chiro is merely a child we found last night at the site of the crime. We believe that his parents were members of the crime syndicate."

"Oh, my god, thank goodness." She heaved out a breath of relief she didn't know she had been holding, "come this way, Hyperforce members. I have all the things you want."

The monkeys explored the store where Serena led them to. The room was filled with racks of toddler clothes, pacifiers, toys, children's books, hats, and many more. Otto gushed at the tiny shoes and Nova couldn't help but be mesmerized by the number of soft toys gathered in one corner. She hesitantly touched one of them- very soft, very fluffy, and very smooth. The golden warrior grinned, grabbing a giraffe and hugged it to her chest, sighing in contempt. She doesn't know how much time she had spent gushing at the toys, but-

"Ahem." Mandarin's stare snapped her out of of her paradise as the leader stood close by. She hurriedly put the toy down, sheepishly rubbing her helmet with her tail. She glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes. Mandarin shoved a bag full of supplies in front of her face to prove his next point.

"We're done, and we're leaving."

His voice was commanding, dominant, just like how it had always been, but she knew he meant well. Nova scurried out of the store to catch up with her brothers, and turned back to wave goodbye to a very dreamy-looking Serena.

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Their days passed by peacefully. Ever since the most wanted criminals were gone, Shuggazoom's crime rate fell by more than fifty percent. With no influence or power, other smaller secret societies either disbanded or stayed quiet. Whatever monsters or convicts who caused chaos in Shugazoom were quickly destroyed or captured by the Hyperforce, with them having numerous overwhelming victories.

In about two months, Chiro had learnt how to speak properly like a normal toddler. He often wore a blue blazer with a red tie around his neck, accompanied by a matching small, round hat which Otto had picked out for him. Everyone had to admit, it did add to Chiro's adorable image. The monkeys grew closer to him than ever, and even gave him their one and only galactic translator, so there was no communication barrier between them.

In the morning, Nova would lead Chiro to the training room and they would start with cardio workouts, just to ensure that Chiro developed a healthy immune system, which Gibson said took physical exercise to build up, especially important for a growing human boy. They would do that for about half an hour before Chiro would collapse on the floor in exhaustion and groan in complaint until the golden warrior stopped and smiled, picking him up and leading him out of the room. Sometimes Sprx would pop in and take Chiro for a round of flight stimulation exercises, to which the boy would often shout out with joy and race with the red monkey to the flight stimulation room noisily down the hallway. Even though Sprx initially did have a dislike for Chiro, he soon came to open up after finding out that hanging out with the boy was actually _enjoyable._

In the afternoon, Gibson would take charge of Chiro's lessons and teach him the pronunciation of certain words with the help of the galactic translator. At this point, Chiro could already say everyone's names accurately, with the occasional slip of the tongue, changing "Mandarin" into "Mandawin" (much to the orange monkey's annoyance), or "Antauri" into "Antauwi". The scientist also taught him basic numbers and very simple math, often flooding the child with worksheets, which surprisingly, Chiro had enjoyed doing very much. Often, he would get the questions correct, much to Gibson's marvel. Chiro could very well be a prodigy if he were to continue at such a rapid rate of development. The scientist couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Nighttime soon fell as Chiro stumbled tiredly into Antauri's room. The meditating black monkey opened an eye and smiled as the door locked itself behind Chiro. It was one of the gloomier nights in Shuggazoom, when dark clouds gathered up in the sky and a mist fell upon the city, blanketing the buildings.

"Antauriii," Chiro hopped over the stream and giggled as he held both of his arms up expectantly towards the levitating black monkey, "I want to fly too."

It was a habit he had developed with Chiro over time. The first time Chiro had seen him levitate, the child stood rooted to the ground for a good fifteen minutes before jumping up and down excitedly. Unsure of what to do, Antauri had picked him up by his arms and lifted him in the air, and Chiro couldn't stop laughing until his face had turned as blue as Gibson's fur. Soon the action became a routine for them, and Antauri enjoyed it as much as Chiro did.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the black monkey smiled softly and hoisted Chiro up, settling the child's small build easily onto his lap. Chiro was about a third of his size, and tall for someone his age, but still a lot smaller than the robot monkeys themselves. Chiro laughed at the feeling of cool air on his face as he wrapped both his hands around Antauri's neck and embraced the monkey in an awkward hug, sticking his body firmly to Antauri's torso, like how a panda climbs a tree.

"Gibson said that cuddles make your fears go away." Chiro's blue eyes blinked innocently, looking up at Antauri. Thunder resounded from outside the robot and he whimpered slightly, but kept a brave face, although his grip around the monkey tightened noticeably. "If I can learn how to fly like you, then I can go up into the clouds and make the thunder gods leave, so kids in Shuggazoom won't be scared anymore." He paused for a minute, thinking. "Antauri, can you teach me how to fly?"

The black monkey chuckled at the question and ruffled Chiro's hair. "Only people with the Power Primate can fly." He made sure his words were simple enough for Chiro to understand. "And you have to train for several years before acquiring this skill."

Chiro lowered his head in disappointment, but recovered in an instant. He grinned childishly. "Then can I get the Power Primate?"

Antauri smiled. "Maybe. You have a lot of potential in you."

And it wasn't a lie. Somewhere deep down inside Chiro, Antauri could sense a vast amount of hidden skill and talent. If he did happen to be a wielder of the Power Primate, he would be able to surpass Mandarin easily.

"Yay!" The child cheered, clapping his hands. "If I get special powers, I want to become like you guys, protecting the city and making people happy!"

A yawn escaped his lips before Antauri got a chance to reply. Unable to describe the warmth that was building up in his chest, Antauri let out a small laugh and levitated down, settling Chiro onto his bed. He used his telekinesis to remove the boy's hat, covering his body up with a blanket. The black monkey watched contentedly as Chiro slowly fell asleep, his chest rising and falling with a steady momentum. Over the past few weeks, he was the one who had created the strongest bond with Chiro, much to Mandarin's disapproval. _It'd only make it more difficult to part ways when we find adoption parents for him_ , the orange leader had said. But Antauri didn't care. He wanted to cherish his relationship with the child, no matter how short their time together was going to be.

It was a sort of connection that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

'Don't grow up,' the black monkey thought, stroking Chiro's hair fondly, 'I wouldn't mind if you stayed like this forever.'

He knew that something like that wasn't possible. Antauri shook his head and sighed, resumed his meditative position in the air for about an hour before he turned off the lights, climbed up onto his bed, and snuggled into the warmth of the child beside him.

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 _One cried, 'God bless us!' and 'Amen,' the other, as they had seen me with these hangman's hands. List'ning their fear, I could not say 'Amen,' when they did say 'God bless us'. Methought, I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'._  
-Macbeth, Act II, scene II

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The changes were subtle, but they were there.

The first abnormality came about after two whole weeks of peace, when the Hyperforce was pursuing a group of gangsters in an alleyway. The gangsters were adults in their early twenties, but they were an easy catch. Gibson had grabbed one by blasting a burst of blue energy from his drill and creating a crack on the concrete below, causing one man to trip. Nova was fast enough to tackle another member from behind, and Mandarin used his tail to wrap the last member's legs together, rendering him immobile.

The gangster that Mandarin had caught faced the orange leader in fright. He covered his face with his hands, unable to look at Mandarin directly in the eye, as if he's seen a ghost.

"You're the one!" The man had shrieked out loudly in fear, "you're the one who captured the big boss a few weeks ago, and the monkey who killed Alamie!"

Mandarin raised an eyebrow and pulled on the man's shirt in a death grip. He narrowed his eyes dangerously and leaned forward until their faces were only inches apart. "So what if I did?"

He had never thought about Alamie's death until now, not when people didn't see him as anything else other than a hero. But now that his status as a hero was sort of in jeopardy when someone implicated him of murder, Mandarin started to reflect quietly, remembering how his sword plunged into Alamie's chest, leaving behind a bright stain of red. The facade he had put up in front of Antauri when he said that criminal lives didn't matter had somewhat slightly faded away now as he recalled the day the other three criminals escaped from his grasp, and only Alamie was lying on the floor, fighting for his last breaths. Like a fish out of water.

Now that he thought about it, the scene had become much more gruesome than he had originally remembered. Alamie's blood had formed a pool around his feet, but Mandarin, at that point in time, hadn't cared.

He was starting to feel slightly concerned now that someone was actually _blaming_ him for Alamie's death. He felt his throat turning dry.

"There's no more hope once he's got his sights on you!" The gangster that Gibson had captured called out a few meters away. "You're as good as dead!"

He felt a small rage bubble up in him at the harsh tone.

"D-don't kill me! Please!" The man under Mandarin covered his face with his hands, as if trying to block out an incoming blow. "I'll repent for my sins! I'll even confess to my crimes! Just don't kill me, please, I promise I'll change, I have my whole family to support..."

The man's voice trailed off into a desperate sob. Seeing how he was begging for his life in pure fear, Mandarin's eye twitched irritatedly as released his hold on the shirt. Nobody had ever been genuinely afraid of him before. He was a hero, _for Shuggazoom's sake,_ not a killer.

"I didn't kill him," the orange monkey whispered softly, looking on the ground with his eyes, "it was an accident."

"Liar! We clearly saw you stab Alamie!"

"He died of blood loss! You wannabe hero, pretending to be protect the city, when all you are is a cold-hearted murderer!"

"You don't deserve to be leader of the Hyperforce! You've made a mockery out of its name!"

The voices from the other gangsters blended together as one, until they sounded like a single, condemning voice in his head. Mandarin slowly fell onto his knees as the sounds got louder and more aggressive in intensity, beating at him mercilessly until doubts bled out inside his mind. He clawed at his helmet with enough strength to make dents, trying to block out the accusations that were suffocating his heart so tightly, it made it hard to breathe.

 _I did not kill Alamie. It was an accident. I miscalculated the projectile of my attack, and stabbed him at a vital area. He was about to shoot me with his gun. It was an act of self-defense._

 _I did not kill him. It was a mistake._

 _But it was fatal._

"I..." Mandarin's voice came out soft, vulnerable, but the remorse he was starting to grow heavier by the minute. Otto walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer even an ounce of comfort, but the orange leader did not budge.

"I did NOT KILL HIM!"

A scream, and it sounded like his own. His breathing remained deep for some time as he growled, closing his eyes shut, trying to calm his racing heartbeat down. Suddenly realizing the abrupt silence around him, Mandarin lifted his head up and looked at his surroundings, only to find numerous eyes locked onto him in shock.

Without even taking a glance at his brothers, the orange monkey turned around bitterly and activated his rocket pack, taking off into the sky and ignoring the cries of Otto behind him.

 _I am sorry._

At this point, he wasn't sure if he was just apologizing to Alamie, or himself.

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Every hero has made a mistake he regrets.

For some, it becomes the stuff of legend, the story they tell to others as a joke at the dinner table, or during winter when everyone is lying snugly beside one another near a fireplace in the living room.

For others, it becomes a living nightmare. It's the face he sees over his shoulder at the mirror. It's like always having someone with him, even if he's alone.

It's knowing, every second of the day, that he failed as a hero.

After the incident, Mandarin cannot get the sight of Alamie's dead body out of his head. It constantly comes back to haunt him. He tries his best not to think about it, but the memory will somehow always find a way to resurface, frequently reminding him of his _mistake_. Mandarin starts to grow extremely weary after a week, a certain kind of guilt consuming him from inside out.

He doesn't know when was the last time he slept. Mandarin's night is plagued with nightmares from his blood-stained sword. The taunting voices of all the criminals' he has caught. The jeering of citizens as they shot hateful glares at him when he walked down the street.

 _Look. The orange one. He's the one who committed a first degree murder._

 _We are grateful to him for capturing the criminals. But killing? That's crossing the line._

 _He doesn't deserve to be called a hero, not after what he has done._

 _So-called warrior of the Hyperforce. He is nothing like his brothers. He is a monster._

Mandarin would often wake up in cold sweat, shooting up from his bed in the middle of the night when the rest are in deep sleep. He despised these dreams. They tormented him to a whole new level- shaking up his rigid core and confidence as a hero, Shuggazoom's _top_ protector. He knows that they are not real, and he cannot help but acknowledge them due to their frequent appearance.

During the day when the city is not in danger, he would sit in the command centre and feel the warmness of the chair on his back, not noticing the clock tick by until a few hours had passed. The weekly news would be on, but he doesn't hear a single sound. He remembers the neon colors from the television screen, flashing throughout the room, and the reporter moving her mouth, but he doesn't recall what she says.

When night falls, he becomes afraid of the dark. If he had been engulfed in black, he would see things he knew that shouldn't appear. Blood stains on his hand, even though he had a perfectly clean legal record. Alamie's blood. Or his own. Or the past criminals' he's injured. He wasn't very sure. All he wanted was for these crimson red stains to go away. No matter how hard he tried to get these stains washed off, he couldn't. It became attached to him like a parasite, draining his sanity away day by day. As a result, Mandarin never turned off the light in his room, not even when he was taking a light nap.

Sometimes when he managed to even get a few minutes of shut-eye after trying to convince himself that he is fully qualified as professional fighter and protector of Shuggazoom, he would wake up with his head throbbing, and Alamie staring him down. _Like hell you are,_ he says to him.

Sleep. He misses sweet sleep so, so, much.

He doesn't remember when was the last time he had a full sleep cycle. Whenever he closed his eyes, he kept hearing these whispers in his head. They never stopped talking, and he doesn't even know who they belong to. Mandarin wills for them to go away, but his efforts are fruitless. He _knows_ that, and eventually stops trying altogether.

He starts to ask Gibson for sleeping pills after the first week of insomnia. The scientist complies at first, prescribing one bottle. Then one would be finished far too quickly, so he asks for another. The second one, too, disappeared in the blink of an eye. When Gibson refuses to prescribe any more medicine by the end of the first week, Mandarin starts stealing from the scientist's lab, replacing the white sleeping pills with cheap drug store vitamin sweets so Gibson wouldn't notice.

He knows it's wrong to steal, but he simply doesn't _care,_ not if it meant that he had to suffer the torment that sleep puts him through every single night.

It is an endless cycle of torture, and he hates it with his entire being, but he knows that he cannot escape.

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It had been a simple conversation between them. Not as two leaders, not as two partners-in-crime, but as brothers. Mandarin remembers it as clear as crystal on the night he had the talk with Antauri. The black monkey was the one who initiated it, bringing in a cup of hot tea with just the amount of honey he preferred, and sat down opposite him in his room.

Mandarin stares at his beverage solemnly. He doesn't speak.

Antauri breaks the silence.

"The whole team has noticed your change in mood lately."

Mandarin looks up at his brother. He smiles, but the smile doesn't quite exactly reach his exhausted eyes.

"I figured."

A pause.

"What's bothering you, Mandarin? Otto has been worried sick."

"...There's no use in asking me that. I don't suppose even someone as spiritual as you can get rid of the ghosts that I see? Every living, waking hour?"

"...Ghosts...?" Another pause. "Ah, you mean Alamie's."

Mandarin lowers his head at the taboo name.

"Am I correct to say that you feel responsible for his death?"

There is no response. Antauri takes it as a yes.

"Mandarin," he placed a hand on top of his brother's hand, "what you need to do now is accept your mistake and move on with the courage you once had. We all know you didn't mean to-"

"That's right, I didn't _mean_ to." His sudden harsh tone startled them both. Then, his voice grew softer. "But a life is a life. Even if he was a _criminal_. _"_

He is unable to look at Antauri. Having his hands stained with someone's else's blood, he feels tainted from the rest. Dirty. Corrupted. _Evil._ Mandarin buried his face in his hands.

"I know I said before that criminals deserved to die, but I didn't _mean_ it. I never did. It was just a tough act. I wanted to show the team how strong I was, that even a death cannot affect me. But none of this should have happened."

He choked back a sob.

"He died because of me. I am not sure how much more I can take."

Antauri stared at the broken leader in front of him. He brings him into a soft hug before letting go.

"Talking about it helps. Just know that none of us blame you. It was not intentional, and what happened has happened. All you need to do, is to learn how to forgive yourself."

Mandarin brain doesn't exactly register Antauri's words fully. He is far too deep into his own guilty conscience to understand what his brother is saying. Mandarin stares up at Antauri, and looked at him as though he is speaking French.

"Do come to my room if you need additional assistance."

The orange monkey nodded as he watched Antauri walk out. _Don't leave me alone,_ he opens his mouth to scream, but no sound escapes his throat.

And despite his promise, he never did show up to Antauri's room.

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Each night he is drowning in cold sweat. He wants to know how to bring back what life has taken away from him. His pride. His bravery. His honor.

After weeks of being locked up inside the robot, Mandarin finally decides to a stroll in the city. The light he sees is white- the first real light he's seen in _weeks-_ blinds him, but he persists forward.

His journey doesn't fail him. Soon, he finds the answer he seeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II:**

Mandarin doesn't know how a stroll in the city ended up with him standing outside a bar, but at this point he is not sure if he cares.

He walks into into the bustling place, let the door slam behind him and shuffled quietly to the end bar stool. He sat down, unstrapped his brown armor and pulled a twenty-dollar bill which he slapped on the table. The bartender looked at him in surprise, but picked up the twenty and went to the register.

"I guess even heroes need a break, eh?"

Mandarin replies with a tired nod and a casual wave of his hand. Without another word the bartender brought him a boilermaker; a glass of beer and a shot of whiskey.

Mandarin looked at the bartender hesitantly. "Maybe I shouldn't," he pushed the crystalline glasses away, nose wrinkling in slight disgust at the bitter smell, "I don't think it's very right to drink..."

The man in front of him smirked. "Why not?" He leaned against the table and pushed the shot of whiskey closer to Mandarin, "a little alcohol won't do you any harm. Besides, you look terrible."

The orange leader gingerly traced the dark circles under his eyes. He sighed. "How can I benefit from this beverage?"

A pause, then a shrug. "It'll make all your problems go away, I guess."

Mandarin perked up slightly, the possibility sounding like music to his ears. " _All?"_

"All."

The orange leader eyed the crystalline glass in front of him skeptically before picking it up slowly. He lifted it to his lips and took a tiny sip, experimenting the taste in his mouth. A distinct mix of wheat bread, carbonation and a trace of cough syrup soothed his taste buds. Black orbs widened as he licked the sweetness off his lips and thirstily gulped down a bigger mouthful.

"...Mm. Better than I expected it to be."

The man grinned at the praise. "Not to brag or anything, but I _do_ make the best alcoholic drinks in town." He locked his eyes with Mandarin's in a challenging stare. "Care for a round of 'drink until you drop'? My shift is going to be over soon, anyway. I'll keep you company while you're here."

If it was anything that Mandarin despised, it was backing down from a confrontation. He felt his lips twitch upwards in response. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the man back with an equally challenging look, and levitated himself up until they were meeting eye to eye. He forgets when was the last time he had felt this adventurous, but he misses this feeling too much to let go.

"You're on."

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The orange leader had gone out in the evening, excused himself by saying that he was going to take a stroll in the city. When Antauri went to make sure that all his brothers were asleep after Chiro himself had fallen deep into slumber, Mandarin had still not returned. Worried, but confident that his leader had merely lost track of time on his stroll, Antauri went to bed, finally retiring after a long day.

The next morning, Mandarin had woken up later than usual and complained about a massive headache. Gibson diagnosed him in the lab and found nothing wrong with his electrical circuit components, but gave Mandarin a bottle of painkillers anyway. 'It must be the stress.' The blue monkey justified with utmost certainty, though he was unsure of what stress his leader could possibly be facing when Mandarin had finally managed to successfully fall asleep after a long time. Otto came up and offered Mandarin a comforting hug, saying that he is going to be fine, that everything will eventually go back to normal. Mandarin lets out a painful grunt and shoves his brother roughly off him, causing the green monkey to back away in slight intimidation. No matter how bad of a mood Mandarin seemed to be, he _never_ responded negatively to Otto's affectionate actions. Instead, he would always welcome them with open arms.

That was when Antauri had his first suspicions that something was wrong.

The days went by and to the team's relief, Mandarin had managed to find a way to steal a few hours of sleep every night. However, his mood, in stark contrast, took a turn for the worst, throwing everyone into a state of confusion. While it seemed like Mandarin was getting the rest he rightfully deserved, he would frequently groan about how his throat felt as dry as sandpaper, or how his head's throbbing never seemed to ease, leading to slower commands and groggier reactions, inadvertently affecting the team during whatever missions they had. When the Hyperforce members did not perform up to his expectations during these missions, he would often blame it on their incompetence as protectors of the city. _Pathetic teammates,_ he remembered cursing to himself when the rest were out of earshot, _all my training for them. Gone to waste on these useless beings._

Mandarin's alcohol intake had increased drastically in the past week, but he finds himself in too deep to give it up. Not when the drink offered sweet escapes from his guilt and provided nightmare-free nights. The feelings of nauseousness in the morning were only a small price which he did not mind paying. The whispers came to haunt him less frequently every night. It was as if his life was almost back to normal.

"Otto," Mandarin would rasp after he wakes up every morning as he stumbles slowly into the command centre, rubbing his temples, "bring me a glass of water, would you?"

Fulfilling Mandarin's command with his usual cheer, Otto would grab a glass of water from the kitchen and run back in a second obediently. Without a word of thanks, the orange monkey snatched the glass away and drank it in one gulp, letting out a sigh of relief as the uneasiness in his stomach eased.

But not all Hyperforce members were as cooperative as Otto. When Sprx had tried to persistently ask him as to why he had heard vomiting noises from his leader's room on certain mornings, Mandarin would find himself getting irritated at the Sprx's questions and snapped at him to mind his own business. The orange monkey had neither the mood nor patience to tolerate his teammates trying to pry into his personal life.

Not only had his behavior changed toward Sprx, but Mandarin no longer found himself enjoying Nova's company on their sparring sessions together, and had stopped engaging with science experiments he used to perform with Gibson. He would absent himself from Antauri's dinners, and preferred going out into the city instead, even when the rest had pleaded him to stay. Most of all, he stopped spending time with Chiro altogether, and would often shout at Chiro when he got too noisy in begging Mandarin to play with him.

Day by day, the monkey team saw Mandarin gradually metamorphose into a different person entirely. And day by day, Antauri's suspicions only grew.

One night, when Mandarin had headed out in the evening, Antauri could no longer shake off his sense of forebode. While the rest of his teammates were asleep, he was about to exit his room and wait for Mandarin to return before he felt a soft tug on his tail.

"Antauri?" Chiro's sleepy voice penetrated throughout the silence, "where are you going?"

"I am going to stay up later tonight." Antauri turned around and gently adjusted the covers on Chiro. "Go back to sleep."

"Is Mandarin back yet?" A whimper. "I miss him."

"He should be, soon."

Perking up, Chiro shot up from the bed excitedly. "Then I wanna stay up with you! After Mandarin returns we can play with him and help him cheer up~"

Unable to bring himself to dampen Chiro's mood, the black monkey silently nodded his head. The two headed to the command centre together, with Chiro skipping excitedly along the way, humming a small tune. Once they reached their destination, Chiro hopped up in a dome shaped chair and waited, while Antauri levitated near him. The black monkey closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, to try to sense the power primate within. All went well as he felt his soul become one with his power primate, as he fell deeper into meditation. An hour or two must have slipped by while he disconnected himself from his physical body, until something strange knocked him out of his peaceful trance.

A small ebb.

Antauri looked around to find the source of the disturbance, until his eyes landed on something he did not dare to believe in. Around Chiro was a very, very faint green aura, but as he blinked the aura was gone in an instant. Antauri rubbed his eyes and thought that they must have been playing tricks on him.

Or maybe they weren't. Maybe Chiro _did_ have the ability to wield the power primate one day.

But he didn't ponder on that thought further, for he heard the sound of the door at the foot of the robot opening. Mandarin must have returned. Antauri glanced at the clock.

3am.

He frowned.

Mandarin stumbled lightheadedly into the robot, his footsteps loud and uneven as he took last swig from the bottle in his hand. He was seeing doubles in front of him, his head dizzy from the adrenaline rush and antidepressants from the alcohol. Licking his lips to savor the last of the sweet taste, Mandarin placed his hands on the wall near him and used it for support as he walked groggily into the command centre.

The presence of his second-in-command made him freeze.

It took Antauri a while to register fully what he was seeing in front of him. The bottle of Ballantine's Scotch whiskey in Mandarin's hand completely threw him off guard; a thousand thoughts flooded through his mind at once, and there was so much he wanted to ask- _how_ did all of this happen?- but when he opened his mouth to speak, no sound escaped.

"What're you doin' up so late?"

Mandarin's voice snapped him back to reality. Antauri levitated down and walked toward his leader, crossing his arms. Chiro ran innocently to his side.

"I was waiting for you," Antauri explained, and raised an eyebrow at the bottle in Mandarin's hand, "care to explain what you are doing with _that?"_

Realizing that the alcohol was still in plain view, Mandarin groaned with frustration. How typical of Antauri to dampen his mood after he'd been enjoying himself outside. "Just a small treat to myself, that's all."

Not fully convinced, Antauri probed further. "And this _small treat_ is probably why you have been coming back so late every night? Why you get hangover symptoms every morning?"

Softening his voice, the black monkey placed a hand on Mandarin's shoulder when he saw that his brother was unable to look at him in the eye. "You shouldn't be doing this. There are much healthier ways to deal with stress. As a leader of the Hyperforce, this is not how you should behave."

 _As a Leader._ The three words echoed continuously in his head. He knows that he is being oversensitive to the topic of his leadership being brought up, but he cannot help it. He doesn't like talking about it after Alamie's death, and Antauri— _of all people-_ should know better than that. Mandarin shoots his second-in-command a glare that could burn as he felt anger rise up in him.

"What do _you_ know about being a leader? Huh?" His tone is bitter, indignant. "All you ever do is just give orders after my footsteps! I've never even seen you take the initiative to lead before!" He sticks a finger into Antauri's chest, leaning in closer until Antauri could smell the alcohol in his breath. "I never meant to take a life away but other people seem to think I did! How do you think they will view me as a hero now? What am I supposed to do with this shame if I don't find a way to lighten it myself?"

Antauri remains calm, upright. "But everyone is worried about you, even Chiro. We all try to help but you reject all of it."

Mandarin growls, raising his voice. "So it's _my_ fault now, huh. How can people like you, who've never experienced such immense guilt before, possibly try to help when you don't even know how I feel? What I found," he raised up the bottle of alcohol, "is a solution to my problems, and you have _no right_ to take that away from me."

Before Antauri could respond, Chiro jumps beside Antauri, raising his hand. "I know how you feel! I've seen mom been through the same thing," he lowers his head a little when Mandarin sharpens his glare, "I want to help..."

Without thinking twice, the orange monkey's annoyance only rose when he saw the sight of the child. He raised a hand up and delivered a harsh, stinging slap across Chiro's cheek. The child backed away in a reflex response, cupping his swollen cheek painfully.

As if his body moved on its own, Antauri jumped in front of Chiro like a protective parent, ushering Chiro behind his back. Chiro hid behind the black monkey, whimpering softly, trying to swallow his sobs.

"Don't touch Chiro," Antauri warned in a stern tone, "he has nothing to do with this."

Mandarin growled menacingly and narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to challenge me?"

The black monkey did not respond, but he kept his gaze straight at his leader, unwavering.

To Mandarin, silence had always meant consent.

The tension between both of them grew so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Mandarin was the first to lash out, activating his blue sword and lunged straight toward Antauri's chest. He snarled when the second-in-command dodged aside skillfully, jumping backwards as he put more distance between them. Mandarin's hostility only grew at his brother's retreat. Unrelenting, he sprinted forward, and locked Antauri's position into his sights.

"Monkey mind scream!"

The black monkey that knew it was only a matter of time before Mandarin's attack knocked him out. Focusing all his concentration into his mind, Antauri barely managed to activate a pale green energy shield in time before the attack penetrated through. He heaved out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

"That new move is still weak," the orange monkey smirked as he appeared behind Antauri seemingly at the speed of light, catching his brother off guard. How could he have moved so quickly?

 _I don't want to fight you,_ Antauri wanted to say, but he didn't even have the time to open his mouth when-

Mandarin stabbed at the shield with all the strength he had and managed to break through after a few seconds. He grabbed Antauri roughly by both arms and locked them behind the black monkey's back, making his brother defenseless.

Mandarin squeezed sadistically at both of his brother's arms until he heard a crushing sound. A sick sort of pleasure welled up in him as he heard Antauri scream out in pain, struggling to get out of Mandarin's grip, but to no avail. Mandarin had him trapped tight. Like an insect stuck on a spider's cobweb, ready to be eaten.

He grinned. The madness returned to his eyes.

"I'll make sure you beg for mercy, Antauri."

Under the influence of alcohol and unable to think straight, Mandarin tried again, empowered by the adrenaline pumping in his blood, this time using his claws to dig deep into his brother's arms until black liquid flowed out. He felt the warm liquid stain his hands, but he doesn't care. It feels so undeniably _good_ to see someone else in pain, so he could forget about his own.

He is so deep into this newfound ecstasy, enjoying every moment of it, that he doesn't hear his siblings come down to the command centre.

"What are you doing!"

Nova's voice broke him out of his thoughts as Mandarin spun around to come face to face with the shocked expressions of his teammates. They surrounded him, instinctively forming a semicircle to block out his escape routes, just like how they cornered criminals on their missions.

"Tsk."

The orange monkey clicked his tongue and released his grip on Antauri, who fell to the ground in agony. Knowing that he was outnumbered, Mandarin walked away, wiping his hands on his sides. Otto and Gibson rushed toward their fallen brother, helping him stand up. Otto quickly assessed the damage, his eyes widening in horror at what Mandarin had done.

"...How could you!"

The green monkey's voice came out hesitant and shaky. He had never, in his life, raised an objection against Mandarin's actions before, but _this... this_ was going too far.

"It was a lesson Antauri had to learn." Mandarin shrugged in response, stepping into his orange tube. "He tried to challenge me. Questioned my leadership. I hope all of you will take something away from this. Do what Antauri did, and you face the same fate."

As Mandarin disappeared up the tube, nobody spoke for a good ten minutes as they tried to register what had happened in their minds. All of them knew that their leader had been acting different lately, but nobody expected him to become violent. Sprx felt his mouth turn dry as he recalled Mandarin's strange behavior in the past few weeks. He swallowed with apprehension.

Recovering from his initial shock, Chiro's light footsteps pattered across the room as he ran up to Gibson with the empty bottle of alcohol in his hand he had picked up after the fight.

"Here." The child said softly as Gibson took the bottle, who ruffled his hair in appreciation.

"Thank you, Chiro."

The blue monkey examined the label carefully and his eyes widened with realization. Gibson inhaled deeply and his expression turned serious, causing the rest to feel even more distress at the scientist's reaction.

"So...? What does it say?"

Sprx's gentle probing did not go unanswered.

"Mandarin has been taking in alcohol into his system," Gibson explained slowly a few moments later, trying not to let shock get the best of him, "very strong alcohol, in fact. That explains his behavior as of late. Anti-depressants in drinks like that does lead to occasional mood swings."

More silence prevailed. This time, it was more uncomfortable.

"We should stop him."

Nobody dared to speak up in response to the suggestion. Not after what they had seen Mandarin do to Antauri. They all knew they were no match for Mandarin's strength. The thought of going against their leader chilled them to the bone.

"We'll fix you up, as good as new," Otto broke the uncomfortable silence awkwardly as he said to his second-in-command, changing the subject as quickly as he could, "then you can go back and rest."

Antauri nodded weakly in response as Gibson and Otto carried him by the arms and guided him towards the medical bay. The remaining members walked back slowly to their rooms, and Nova held Chiro's trembling hand in comfort as they made their way up the robot.

"Will Antauri be okay?" The child asked innocently, his eyes glistening with tears of fear. "I don't like how Mandarin acts anymore."

Nova squeezed Chiro's hand tighter. "None of us do." A pause. "But if things get out of hand, we will make sure to protect you. Just forget about everything tonight, okay?"

Chiro nodded as he tried his best not to cry. Nova's eyes softened and bent down, offering a comforting hug, then opened the door to Antauri's room. She turned on the lights and left it on for the child, who climbed onto the bed and laid down gingerly.

"Goodnight Chiro," Nova spoke softly and put on the strongest smile she had, "everything is going to be alright."

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That night, the orange monkey had the best sleep he had ever experienced in the longest time he could remember. He was more refreshed than ever. There was no heavy lead resting on his heart when he woke up; nor the terrible feeling of fearing for his heroic image being stained; and best of all, there was no guilt of taking a life away.

In fact, if harming others made him feel uplifted, he doesn't mind doing it again if it meant escaping from the hell he had been put through.

As days pass he feels himself growing stronger as he takes out criminals on whatever missions they had singlehandedly, the urge to hurt compelling him forward. Death had visited him more than once, but each time he rises up again: stronger and uncrushed. Each defeat of their enemy makes him realize the extent of his power, how much he is actually in charge of.

If he had so much strength in him, if he could easily cause harm with his powers, why not just use force to ensure that nobody would doubt his leadership ever again? Why not just demand obedience from people around him? In fact, why did he even fear so much for his leadership in the first place?

He smiles as these ideas take root. And this time, his smile actually meets his eyes.

Mandarin perfected life, and closes red eyes to dream hungry dreams.

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Mandarin gathers each member in the training room on one evening. He doesn't leave the robot tonight, but stands with a commanding presence in the training room as his siblings show up one by one. Gibson is the last to appear. As the blue monkey steps into the room, Mandarin uses his telekinesis to shut the door behind him with one loud 'bang'.

The orange monkey which knew himself to be leader ignored his inferiors looking at him with blank expressions. And ever watchful, he plays a waiting game with them.

Tension grows thick as nobody utters a word. Mandarin waits until his inferiors are growing restless, then clears his throat and shoots a glare at Gibson.

"Why were you late?"

The blue monkey, startled at the sudden noise, swallows only loud enough for himself to hear. "Um... I, I had to-"

Stuttering. He despises it. "I repeat, Hal Gibson, why were you _late?"_

"I had extra lessons with Chiro." Gibson replies quickly in one breath, unable to meet Mandarin's condescending gaze. He plays with his fingers nervously as he feels his leader's stare burn through his fur.

"That is not a valid reason." Mandarin's voice comes out low, threatening. "Tutoring the child is not part of your duties as Chief of Science, correct?"

Gibson lowers his head even further and nods submissively.

"Hence, because of your tardiness, you deserve a punishment. You'll be the first to test out our new level ten training system."

Mandarin watches as he sees Gibson's face turn pale, and cannot help but grin to himself as the blue monkey steps out obediently, but reluctantly, into the training area. Nova looks like she is ready to explode, but Otto puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes tight. _No,_ his desperate ebony eyes meets her rose pink ones in a silent plea, _don't provoke him. Not now._

As Mandarin presses the button on the controls, five tall white pillars shoot up from the ground, and all sorts of weapons popped out from the pillars, aiming directly at Gibson. The freeze rays are the first to attack, as two beams of deep blue targeted Gibson's head. The scientist is barely quick enough to jump out of the way before being assaulted by five more saws on his right. Gibson activates his power drills and shoots for the saws, but misses one and gets hit by something above him, but he reacts fast enough to move out of the way before being stabbed by a knife coming straight for his tail.

The level ten training system. Bigger, faster, stronger than what Gibson has ever experienced. He attacks with all his strength, tries not to get hit, but he knows this is one machine that is nearly impossible to outsmart.

After fifteen minutes of continuous combat the blue monkey starts to get out of breath. Mandarin rubs his hands together in a wicked manner and increases the attack intensity on the controls.

"Too weak, Gibson, too weak!"

The other monkeys behind him stand up straighter in alarm.

As the blue monkey stops for a second to catch his breath, he spots a red laser beam coming at him from the corner of his eye. Gibson tries to muster his remaining strength to run, but his legs have turned too soft to follow his brain's commands. He closes his eyes and braces for impact. A scorching heat slices through part of his fur and burns the skin below, causing him to nearly let tears of pain escape from his eyes. Ever yearning for more screams, Mandarin listened carefully and savored the music to his ears, took strength and vitality from it- realizing his potential with every new injury, every new stab of pain Gibson felt.

He smiles. This is the life. The extent of his power over others.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Sprx activates his magnets and uses them to shut down the controls before rushing to his leader, staring at him straight in the eye, and jabs an accusing finger on Mandarin's chest. Otto runs forward to help Gibson back up onto his feet and supports the blue monkey with his own weight.

"Why?"

Sprx's voice comes out loud, confused, and betrayed that the once kind orange monkey would intentionally injure one of his teammates. He wants to sob, scream, and shake Mandarin's shoulders so _damn hard_ until his leader would get some sense back into that brain of his.

That _sick, power hungry_ brain of his.

Sprx snarls in disgust and anger, but Mandarin only chuckles in response.

"Why?" The orange monkey repeats, grinning. "Because, seventy-seven, this is what happens if all of you don't _obey_ me! Don't follow my orders perfectly! And this is what _will_ happen to the rest of the disobedient citizens of Shuggazoom city once I take control... of everyone. Once that happens, I will be the most powerful person in the city, and nobody will even dare to oppose my rule."

The rest of the monkeys stare up at Mandarin as if he is crazy. Insane. And at this point, maybe he actually is.

Antauri shakes his head in disbelief as he tries to find the words to speak, but the transformation of his leader had thrown his entire being into a state of shock. He cannot move, not even a muscle, as his brain tries to think back to when everything had gone so wrong.

"...No."

Otto's throat is parched and he licks his lips to control his voice. It is soft, but firm, and Mandarin looks at him with surprise. "It is not our duty as protectors to rule over Shuggazoom."

" _You,_ out of everyone here, is opposing me, Otto?" The orange monkey raises an eyebrow and takes one step closer to the mechanic, chest held high with confidence. "Don't make me laugh. You are far too fragile to offer any worthy resistance to me."

Otto settles Gibson gently down onto the floor and leans the scientist's back against the wall, afraid to worsen the injury further. He gulps and readies himself hesitantly into a battle stance, activating his energy green saws. The green monkey looks like he is about to cry, but he narrows his eyes in determination.

"Not to the old Mandarin," he whispers under his breath, "but you're not the Mandarin I know anymore. You've changed."

 _You've changed so, so much._

With a deep inhale of air Otto charges forward, his saws ready to slice through whatever attack Mandarin offered. At Otto's advancement the remaining monkeys looked at each other and nodded with resolve, each activating their own transformers and lunging at their leader. Sprx attacked in the air, aiming for the orange monkey from above as he gracefully dodged each red electromagnetic beam, while Nova engaged with close quarter combat, trying to get a good target on her brother, but his reflexes were far too quick for the gold warrior to properly land a hit. Mandarin grabbed hold on Otto's incoming saw and threw the saw, as if it were made out of air, at Nova, to which both of them came crashing into each other and landed in a heap at the corner of the room. Then, Mandarin detached part of his energy tail and used it as a rope to aim for Sprx in the air, effectively binding his brother's arms together before he smashed the red monkey roughly onto the ground. The red monkey tried to get up, but Mandarin sends a voltage of electricity through the rope, knocking Sprx unconscious.

"A waste of time," the orange monkey sighed and smirked at Antauri challengingly, the last one standing, "I'll see you soon, after I exploit your biggest weakness."

A burst of green energy engulfed Mandarin's body as he disappeared without a trace from the room. Antauri quickly deactivated his transformers and started to reactivate the rest of his brothers, while Gibson shakily stood up and rubbed his sore side, wincing.

"Your greatest weakness," Gibson whispered as he thought quietly, his brain running quickly through all the possibilities, before he felt his body become stiff as a harsh realization struck him, "could he be talking about Chiro? ...Antauri," he turned quickly toward his brother, "you need to check on Chiro. Now. I will reactivate the rest."

The second-in-command nodded in understanding and sprinted as fast as his legs could take him to his room, while he prayed feverishly that Chiro would be alright. If anything were to happen to Chiro... Antauri couldn't bear to think of the horrible possibilities as he berated himself silently for getting the child involved in all of this mess that the Hyperforce was in. His metallic feet screeched to a stop as he hurriedly used telekinesis to open the door to his room, heart rate spiking as each minute passed, cold sweat running down his fur as he feared for Chiro's safety.

As the door swung open, Antauri almost stopped breathing at the sight in front of him.

Mandarin had wrapped a metallic arm around Chiro's waist, holding the boy close to his body as he stood behind Chiro. His sword was aimed towards Chiro's neck, and the proximity of the weapon was so close until a trickle of blood ran down the child's skin. Antauri could see Chiro's forehead drenched in sweat under the light, and how his eyes were wide with fear. The black monkey readied his ghost claws and took one step forward before Mandarin dug his sword deeper into Chiro's skin, causing the boy to cry out loud.

"Antauri!" Chiro's pleading voice rang out throughout the room as tears startled to form in his eyes. "It's burning me! It hurts so much!"

The black monkey felt his heart break as he stopped dead in his tracks. "Let go of Chiro." A pause, then he deactivated his weapons, his voice softening. "...please."

Mandarin howled with laughter as he hugged Chiro closer to him, making the sobs grow louder. "Look at you, pathetic fool! Softened by affection and love. Disgusting."

The orange monkey smirked and narrowed his eyes until both were locked with Antauri's greenish-yellow ones in a dead stare. "Let's make a deal. A duel to death. If you win, you can do whatever you want to me, lock me up, I don't care." His smirk grew wider until his fangs showed and a sinister sort of madness flooded his eyes. "But if you lose, I _kill_ the child, who has the potential to wield the power primate, and take over Shuggazoom, with every citizen under my control. How does that sound?"

Looking at Chiro, Antauri felt his throat turn dry as he contemplated about a decision. Even if he had to die in place of the child... he would exchange his life for the child's in a heartbeat. Chiro was everything to him. He firmed his resolve.

He had to protect Chiro, no matter what.

Antauri nodded to Mandarin's words and the orange monkey let Chiro go. The child quickly pushed himself away from Mandarin and went to wrap his arms around Antauri's waist, burying his face into the black monkey's fur until it was sticky and wet with tears. Antauri bent down and hugged Chiro close, a huge wave of relief flooding through him as he whispered into the trembling child's ear.

"Shh," Antauri soothed quietly, rubbing his back, "don't worry. You will be safe."

Chiro stared up at the black monkey and more tears welled up as he choked. "I... I don't want you to die..."

Bringing a finger to Chiro's lips, Antauri offered a genuine smile. "I won't."

Before Chiro could protest, he pushed the boy out of the room, closed the door firmly and faced Mandarin with the full intent to attack for the first time. Antauri activated his ghost claws and bared his fangs at Mandarin in a battle stance.

 _This was a fight that both of them could not afford to lose._

For an instant, they, who were once brothers, stood locked face to face. With a bloodcurdling scream, Mandarin ran forward with vicious, gleeful mad red eyes. He came fast at Antauri with a looping swing over his head. When he swung, he expected his opponent to dodge, but Antauri leaped inside the swing instead. The black monkey hooked his left arm over Mandarin's right, grabbed his tail with his free hand and sent Mandarin flying back to the opposite end of the room hard enough to crack the concrete wall, creating a small waft of dust.

Mandarin did not waste even a second. He charged back at Antauri at the speed of sound, readying both his sword and shield. Antauri's battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs as he gracefully dodges all of Mandarin's thrusts at him with a sword. The black monkey then crosses over his arms and throw a backhand at Mandarin, hiding his other hand and activates it into a phased, see-through claw. Mandarin blocks the first blow with an arm, as expected. Antauri tries to stab over his other arm, but his opponent effortlessly switches to grabbing that wrist. The black monkey's mind tingles, and he pulls back. Mandarin brings his shield close to Antauri's body, close enough for him to feel the heat emanating from it, and swings up at his caught arm. Antauri jerks it up high, out of Mandarin's grip and range. Lunging, the black monkey targets a blind spot on Mandarin's chest and pushes hard enough to bend him back over.

Stepping up, Antauri sits on his middle, trapping Mandarin on his back. He stabs downwards, but again the orange monkey captures him, his wrist wedged between Mandarin's two. Antauri's momentum is stopped, and Mandarin takes this opportunity to push his opponent off him. Antauri is thrown back as he topples onto the hard floor. He lands partially on an elbow, and pain shoots up his shoulder.

As he pushes himself up with his arms, Mandarin seizes the opportunity and uses his foot to kick Antauri's body back down. The black monkey grunts as he feels the whole weight of Mandarin on his back. All his attempts to get up are futile as he struggles uselessly against his opponent's control.

Mandarin smiles at the turning of tables as he uses his sword to slash across Antauri's back mercilessly. The cut is deep, but not fatal, and it stains his sword in a deep crimson red. He watches Antauri bite his lip to hold back screams and bends down beside him, whispering into the black monkey's ear.

"Staying strong for Chiro, huh?"

Up. Antauri willed himself to get up. He uses the last of his strength to push Mandarin off and got back onto his feet, trying to see through a black haze which clouded his vision. He staggers through confusion and anger, fog and pain. Antauri tries to land a hit onto his opponent, but Mandarin easily dodges and sends a flying kick at Antauri's torso, causing the black monkey to lean back against a wall for support.

He feels his warm blood seeping down his back, and the loss is making him dizzy.

Mandarin stands close to Antauri until they are both in very close proximity. He grins in pure sadism and brings his sword close to his brother's neck.

He is so close to claiming his prize, that he could practically _taste_ his victory.

Before Mandarin can make his next move, the door behind him is knocked down loudly, much to his dismay, revealing Chiro and four other monkeys.

"Antauri!"

Chiro is the first to rush forward and wedges himself in the space between Mandarin and Antauri, kicking the orange monkey away with unexpected strength. He holds Antauri's hand and turns his back towards Mandarin. Chiro heaves out a sigh of relief when he sees that the black monkey is still breathing. Antauri smiles and grips Chiro's hand in response, staggering to the door, leading the child to the safety of his siblings when-

"You _damn child,_ I am going to _kill you_ if that is the last thing I do!"

Mandarin's enraged scream fills the room as he pries Chiro forcefully away from Antauri, tackling him down. Rage blinding his vision, Mandarin stabs at whichever part of Chiro's body his sword can land on. The child lets out a high pitched scream when Mandarin feels his sword penetrate through _sweet, soft flesh. B_ efore he can make the next stab, Antauri uses his phased claw and grabs a hold of Mandarin's battery in his back's compartment before ripping it out.

The sword is inches from Chiro's face before the orange monkey falls to the ground with a soft thump, fully deactivated.

Antauri steps into a puddle of blood as he picks the unconscious child up into his arms. He doesn't want to believe what he is seeing, but as Chiro's warm blood seeps through his fingers, reality slaps in harshly in the face. He is barely breathing, and Antauri has never felt so much fear grip his heart before.

"Gibson! Get Chiro to the medical bay, now!"

His voice is loud, desperate, urgent as he passes the child carefully to the blue monkey. Gibson nearly screams at the sight of Chiro's injury but nods firmly and runs out of the room. Otto follows close behind him. Antauri does everything in his power to keep his calm and collected demeanor, and though successful in his attempt, all he wants is to cry on someone's shoulder and be told that Chiro would be okay. That the boy would live. That he wouldn't be on the cold operating table, fighting for his life.

Sprx places a hand on his brother's arm gently, but he himself trying to stay strong for the sake of the rest. "...What do we do with Mandarin now?"

Nova squares her shoulders and stands up straighter, but her spirit is clearly diminished through her exhausted pink eyes. "We have to stop him from carrying out his schemes. Send him somewhere far away from here."

Sprx's voice wavers noticeably. He had loved Mandarin as a brother in the past, and he still isn't willing to do this. He feels a part of him die on the inside, tasting betrayal for the first time, and he fights back burning tears. "You mean..." He doesn't dare to say it, but he forces himself to choke it out. " _...Exile?"_

Antauri nods glumly. Sprx doesn't think that he has seen those greenish-yellow orbs filled with so much unexplained sorrow before. Chiro's injury and Mandarin's exile happening all in a matter of hours... it takes a spirit of steel to still be able to handle all these things at once.

But then again, the day's events have affected them all in different ways. Sprx doesn't know how long it will take for them to recover from the loss of a leader and possibly the loss of a child as well, but at this point, he is too afraid to ask.

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 **Few hours later:**

The monkeys gather together in the command centre after Gibson had informed them that Chiro was now in stable condition, sleeping in the medical bay. None of them speak as they take their places in egg-shaped chairs, all mentally drained from what had happened, their eyes dark and dull. Knowing that as a second-in-command, Antauri pushes himself to be a pillar of support for his team especially at a crucial time like this. He uses his strongest voice to gather everyone's attention.

"We cannot function without a leader," he begins as he sees each of them lift up their heads slightly, "we need to figure out what to do next... before we go into stasis and wait for the next leader of the Hyperforce, who is destined to lead us."

He cannot bring himself to look at Otto in the eye as he continues. "I have decided that it is best for us to exile Mandarin to a place where he will be contained safely. The H.O.O.P prison has already been contacted, and we will send him there as soon as possible."

Otto looks like he is about to burst out crying, but he bites back a sob threatening to rise out from his throat and looks down at the floor.

"We also need to decide what to do with Chiro."

At the mention at the child, Nova shoots up from her seat and beckons Antauri to sit down, knowing that the topic of Chiro could send their second-in-command into a complete meltdown. She bites her lip, trying not to let her voice waver as she faced her brother with a brave face.

"Sprx and I discussed about it, while you were preparing the ship for exile," she clears her throat, choosing her words carefully, "we also informed Gibson and Otto about our decision, and we have their approval. Chiro will be sent to Shuggazoom's best orphanage, under an anonymous name. Thus nobody will know that he was under the Hyperforce's care, since the unexpected... turn of events. And if we're going into stasis soon... it would be best for Chiro to..." She pauses to steady her voice, "forget about us. Who knows when we might even wake up again..."

Antauri sits up straighter to compose himself, but he feels another jolt of pain stab through his heart. "You mean... memory erasing?"

The golden warrior looks down guiltily. "...Yes. And we are planning to erase Mandarin's memories of Chiro as well, so in case he breaks out of prison and comes back to Shuggazoom, he won't be targeting Chiro anymore. Please know..." Her voice trails off into a soft whisper, weak and vulnerable for the strongest warrior on the team, "...everything we are doing is for Chiro's sake now."

Antauri takes a minute or two to let the words sink in. Every nerve in his brain is rejecting the idea of sending Chiro off, abandoning him, leaving him alone. He wants to beg and cry and scream for the child to stay with them, that maybe they _don't_ need to go into stasis after all and the prophecies he'd read at the Veran Mystics were wrong, and they can go on raising Chiro as their own, living happily ever after, but...

He knows that he has to let Chiro go. As heroes, sacrifices have to be made, no matter how painful.

Without meeting Nova in the eye, he gives her a slight nod.

He feels his heart shatter even more as his limbs grew numb. And then an anger and sadness surge through him with so much power, he knows not what to do, but he accepts his fate and decides to let go.

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Antauri carries a sleeping child gently into the lab and watches Gibson turn on the computer. He smiles at the weight in his arms, telling himself that he will never forget Chiro, the one person who has brought so much joy into his life before laying him down. When the others are not looking, he quickly presses a small kiss on Chiro's forehead, ruffling his hair with affection.

"As we erase Chiro's memories, all his time spent with us... will be gone," Gibson chokes on his words but recovers quickly, melancholy flooding his tone, "and his brain will naturally fill in the gap with other false recollections. As for Mandarin, since he has already gone on to H.O.O.P, he does not need to be here physically for us to erase his memories. The data of Chiro, stored inside the computer chip in his brain, will automatically be wiped out with the signals from this machine."

The rest nod in understanding as they turn their backs to the computer, unable to bring themselves to look. Sprx's shoulders start to tremble as a mechanical sound starts up, filling the room. As Otto helps Gibson with the process, he is shaking non-stop, closing his eyes shut tightly.

Antauri takes in a deep breath, and braces himself for the outcome. He covers his ears to block out all sound.

 _Memory erasing process, complete. All data, 100% gone._

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The rain comes down in buckets, the night skies of Shuggazoom mourning for the loss of a hero. The Hyperforce carried Chiro, who is wrapped snugly in a blanket, protected from the rain and cold, to the entrance of the orphanage. Sprx is the only one who gathers up enough courage to press the doorbell, but his actions were heavier than usual.

"Coming!"

A lady's voice. Sprx shoots a half hearted thumbs up at his teammates as they take to the skies with their rocket packs. The rain beats down harshly on them, drenching their bodies to the bone, and Nova looks over at her brothers.

She was not sure if the water streaming down their faces were tears or not. She lets out a small, inaudible sob as thunder rumbled in the sky, knowing that there was no shame in crying when everybody else looked like they were doing the same thing.

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As they returned to the Super Robot, nobody was in the mood to talk. All of them made their way to Gibson's lab, who helped clean up their wounds from the battle with Mandarin. Silence prevailed as only the sound of cutting bandages could be heard as the blue monkey got to work.

When Gibson typed in a few words in his computer, the water from his fur dripped onto the keyboard, leading to an electrical spark. He gasped. An alarm activated a few moments later, flooding the lab in flashing red light. The monkeys turned their heads in surprise to the sound, confused at what was happening.

 _Warning. Memory erasing process, continued. All assigned data in available occupants will be erased and terminated._

Sprx stared at Gibson with wide, panicked eyes. "What in the world...? What assigned data is it talking about?"

Otto ran over to the computer and tried to pull a few controls on the keyboard, but quickly withdrew his hand away when a small explosion could be heard from the internal engine due to overheating. "The process is not reversing! The data we previously locked onto Mandarin's brain regarding Chiro can't be undone, now it's locked onto the rest of the computer chips in our brain as well. We're...!" He gulped, his hands falling limply to his sides in resignation. His shoulders sagged as he gave himself up to his fate.

"...It is only a matter of minutes before all our memories of Chiro gets erased." Gibson says softly, continuing from where Otto left off. He wanted to be the last person on Shuggazoom to break the news to his brothers, and damage them even more, but he knew that as long as the computer chips were embedded in their brains, it was one truth none of them could escape from. "I'm... sorry. This is a malfunction. There's nothing I can do to stop it."

Antauri felt something inside of him snap. Everything turned silent for a moment, like the world had just collapsed. If not for his hand on the medical table, he would have fallen to the floor.

An overwhelming wave of pure sadness overtook his entire being. He cannot control the tears falling out continuously of his eyes, nor the trembling of his shoulders as he tried to steady himself in Gibson's reassuring hug when the blue monkey wrapped his arms around him. Almost all of his weight is leaning against Gibson's body; there is barely any strength left inside of his legs. He feels his breathing get sharper by the second as his heart is crushed into a million, irreparable pieces once more.

He thought of his teammates, who were barely pulling themselves together. He thought of Mandarin's exile, the one person in the team whom he thought had a heart of gold, and he thought Chiro, their first human friend whom'd they'd known for five weeks, who came into his life and showed him love he'd never experienced before just by being alive.

"I d-don't want to forget him," he managed to choke out softly beside Gibson's ear, all of his pent up feelings finally let loose. All of his locked up rage and his hidden fears; everything. All emotions are displayed on his face, and Gibson could read him like an open book, the first time he has been able to.

"Please... make it stop. Make it stop... Chiro..." The blue monkey uses all of his strength to support his desperate brother, "Chiro is dear to me. He means everything. We already left him at the orphanage, erased his memory of us," Antauri looks up at the blue monkey like a child begging for forgiveness, "you can't take my memory of him away from me. That's the last thing I have left of him. It will be like... he never even existed!"

Gibson offered the most comforting hug he could as the alarm continued flashing throughout the room. He decided to use the last few moments to say what he could, his voice greatly softened by the alarm. In the world now, was only him and Antauri, and no one else as he blocked out all the other noises in the room. For once, Antauri is the one is his arms, not not vice versa. He squeezed his brother's hands tightly, and gave the best smile he possibly could.

"Antauri, pull yourself together," he said in a firm tone, "even if we forget him, somewhere in us, is where Chiro will remain. As you said before," he swallowed, "fate has strange ways of operating. Perhaps one day, our paths will cross again. He won't be forgotten," he spoke out his last words before beginning to fall unconscious when he felt the signal doing its work on his brain, "and neither will us."

Barely being able to register Gibson's words in time, the black monkey could only nod in response and raised a hand up to wiped the tears off his face. He musters a small smile with the last of his strength, trying to recall all the moments he and Chiro had shared together before they were gone.

 _Thank you,_ he remembered thinking before darkness engulfed him, but to whom he was saying it to, he was not entirely sure.

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" _Fate has a special way of making people meet, and things happen."_

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 **A few years later:**

Chiro woke up the the sight of blinding white light as his vision gradually became clearer. His back was lying against a cold floor and he raised a hand up to rub the back of his head groggily. Five colorful monkeys looked back down on him, causing his eyes to widen.

"AHHHH!"

He scrambled back as fast as he could, a hand raised up protectively in front of himself.

"Who are you?... _What_ are you?"

Sprx crossed his arm and raised an eyebrow. "This kid is supposed to be our new leader? Are you _kidding_ me?"

Antauri placed a hand on Sprx's shoulder, frowning at his brother's behaviour. "Don't be too quick to judge, Sprx. He is the one who woke us up from our stasis."

Otto walked up to the teenager and held out his hand, a friendly smile on his face. "What's your name?"

Chiro hesitantly took the green monkey's hand and shook it in a flimsy handshake. "Oh, me? My name's-"

"Chiro."

Two voices spoke out at once. Everyone stared at Antauri in confusion and shock.

"How did you know?" The teenager asked in awe.

Antauri placed a hand on a tugging feeling on his chest. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"I... I'm not sure."

Familiar baby blue eyes met his own greenish-yellow ones, and Antauri couldn't get rid of this faint feeling of nostalgia that he had seen those eyes somewhere before.

He tried his best to recall, but he just can't.

Dismissing off the sensation as maybe a memory of someone he saw when he was passing by the streets, Antauri floated up until Chiro's eye level. After years of waiting for a new leader, he couldn't be happier with the outcome. If the prophecies were correct, then this child is indeed the Chosen One, and he would do everything in his power to train Chiro until he was ready to take on whatever evil that appeared.

Antauri smiled.

"Welcome to the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce."

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 _A/N: IT IS DONE. I swear this took forever, and thank you for you guys who read till the end of a 36 page one-shot. There are two sub-plots in this story, and they are two rather heavy ones, (Mandarin's character change + Antauri and Chiro's relationship) but nonetheless I hope you guys enjoyed it. I tried to make some parts at the beginning funny in the first chapter, just for the laughs. Hope y'all liked it :) Also, food for thought, I made Alamie sound similar to 'Alchemist' on purpose ;)_

 _I am also setting it as an AU because I honestly think it's quite unlikely to be canon for Mandarin to turn to alcohol. That's kinda a stretch, heheh, but alcohol only acted as a trigger to Mandarin's violent self. Three parts in his character development here: Guilt, Alcoholism, Dictatorship. To me, Mandarin has always been a very deep character. If he really is the wisest, smartest, strongest of the monkeys, I feel like there has always been something more to him than meets the eye._

 _Anyways, that's all for now, thank you for reading!_


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